THE various trusts that carry Joseph Rowntree’s name have done much good work down the years.

They have campaigned against poverty and inequality; set new standards of housing design; developed better models for elderly living; and raised awareness about dementia.

Rowntree himself would have been proud.

None of this means the trusts should not be bound by the same rules as everybody else, however.

When, following a public inquiry in 2006, the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust (JRHT) received planning permission for a 540-home housing development at Osbaldwick, one of the conditions was that it set up a nature reserve at New Earswick.

Concerns had been raised about the loss of wildlife habitats at Osbaldwick, where the new development was to be built. The New Earswick reserve was intended as a replacement. It is hugely disappointing that ten years on, while the new Derwenthorpe development has gone ahead, there has been little progress on the reserve. We would have expected better than this from a Rowntree organisation.

The JRHT has taken some steps. Farming of the land in question has stopped, so that it can be turned into grassland, and the area has been opened to the public. But the reserve has not been established, or footpaths and other work completed, as was promised. The JRHT is, as a result, in breach of its planning permission.

The city council has agreed for now not to take enforcement action, saying it will work with the trust to ensure it fulfils its obligations. That is acceptable for now. But we will expect the council to keep the pressure on. And the JRHT itself should really have been setting a better example than this.